DIY Projects and adventures with Dino Segovis…

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The 555 Slider Synth

Here’s a fun project to make with the 555 chip.
Here’s how it works. When it’s turned on by pressing SW1, the 555 astable oscillator is activated. It will produce a tone through the speaker that can be varied in pitch by changing the distance between the LED and the photo cell. The photo cell is mounted at one end of a 1/4″ diameter tube which shields it from 99% of the light. The LED is mounted on a piece of music wire and inserted into the tube. You change pitch by simply moving the wire in and out. Move it inwards and get a higher frequency tone. Move it outwards and the tone goes down in frequency. You can build the device as I have shown in the pictures and video, or get creative and come up with something new!

I encourage you to try building other circuits with the 555. It’s a very versatile chip with many applications.
Have fun and…